Ex Bentley & Lamborghini Design Chief Moving To Hyundai

Latest reports from the automotive media are suggesting that Hyundai Motor Company will hire Luc Donckerwolke from the Volkswagen Group to replace Peter Schreyer when his reign as head of design for Hyundai and Kia comes to an end.

Quit Bentley to accept Hyundai offer?

The story was reported in Automotive News Europe, but at this point, Hyundai have declined to make any kind of comment.

The rumors were fueled by the fact that the Belgian designer had quit Bentley to accept what was described as the “offer of a lifetime.”

The 49-year old Donckerwolfe has a similar backround as Peter Schreyer, spending time with Audi during his 23 years with VW, whilst also doing work for Seat and Lamborghini.

His most notable designs were the Audi R8 Le Mans, as well as the Lamborghini Murcielago and Lamborghini Gallardo.

The report went on to say that Donckerwolke would be moving to Korea, and would go through a transition period before taking over from Schreyer, who will be retiring in two years.

Schreyer has held this position since 2013, when a promotion put him in charge of the designs at both Hyundai and Kia. His role was to transform the Hyundai brand in the same way that he did for Kia when he joined them from VW in 2006.

When talking about his dual role, Schreyer said that his goals was to ensure that the sibling brands had identities that were totally distinct.

Donckerwolke made headlines a few months back, when he viewed the reveal of the 2016 Lincoln Continental at the New York Auto Show and took to Facebook to ask Lincoln if they would like him to “send you the product tooling.”

Lincoln head designer David Woodhouse was not pleased by the comment, going as far as calling it “offensive.”

Official word on the hiring of Donckerwolke is expected soon, but for now, Hyundai is simply stating that they do not comment on potential appointments.